A common problem with sports fishing is the difficulty of bringing the fish into the boat after hooking a large catch. Hand-held fishing nets have been in use for some time, and provide an easy way to net and handle the slippery prey. However, the usual procedure is to put the net in the water in front of the fish and dip the fish from underneath. In many instances, presenting the net in front of the fish causes it to exert utmost effort to break loose. A good many fish are lost in this manner. This method of netting also becomes a very complicated task where two fish are hooked on one line, one fish disposed on the bottom line, and the other disposed on the slip line. In such a situation, the fish are generally about four feet apart. More often than not, one of the fish is lost during netting. A surer way to net any fish, particularly multiples, is to bring the fish along side the moving boat. But this procedure is strenuous, and creates other problems for a lone fisherman.
A catch will often elude capture at the last minute, as the angler tries to net it. Netting difficulties are increase if the boat is kept at trolling speed.
One of the problems with netting a fish is that the fisherman is often trying to accomplish several tasks at once. While the sportsman is trying to guide the hooked fish into the net with one hand, he often finds it difficult to hold the net steady with the other hand as the net is dipped into the water. It is difficult to hold the net in a receptive position as the boat bobs up and down from the tidal action of the waves. Additionally, the currents and the forward movement of the boat cause a backward force upon the net as it is thrust into the water. This backward force severely strains the muscles of the out-stretched arm holding the net.
In addition, a twisting force is experienced by the sportsman as he dips the net into the water. The twisting force is the result of the backward force acting upon the bottom peripheral edge of the frame of the net. The backward force creates a torque about the shaft axis of the net. This torque produces a twisting force upon the out-stretched arm in addition to the aforementioned backward force. The two forces act simultaneously upon the forearm muscles of the fisherman. The combined forces prevent steady manipulation of the net and often force the fisherman to lose the catch. Even if the fish is landed, the constant strain of netting a plurality of fish in this manner frequently results in subsequent painful forearm tenderness.
Many an experienced sportsman will be found to complain of injury to his arm after a successful day of netting fish in this fashion. Fishermen have been long suffering with the aforesaid problem and have usually thought of it as the necessary price to pay for enjoying their sport.
It should not be necessary to incur injury in the practice of any sport. It is known, for example, that avid runners often experience shin splints. But this condition is often alleviated by running on softer surfaces or using better shock absorbing running shoes. It is also common for tennis players to experience tennis elbow, resulting from the dynamic forces created when the tennis ball hits the racket outside of the percussion zone. Yet the strain upon the tennis player's elbow has been alleviated by designing tennis rackets with a wider zone of percussion.
With the aforesaid philosophy in mind, the invention was conceived as a means of reducing or eliminating the forces created when a sports fisherman dips the net into the water to net a hooked fish alongside of a moving boat.
The improved fishing net of the invention provides a new net design that effectively eliminates and reduces the simultaneous backward and torque forces created by the moving current upon the net as it is inserted into the water.
In addition, the present invention provides a netting apparatus that allows the sportsman to operate the net with one hand, while he releases the fish backward into the net with the other hand.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,943, issued on Jan. 23, 1990 to Allen et al, a method and apparatus for gathering fish from the bunt of a net is illustrated. This patent describes a dual net device wherein the catch is entrained in a first net while a second net is used to scoop the fish therefrom. Such an apparatus is utilized mainly for commercial fishing where there is a great plurality of fish entrained in the net. While the purpose of the illustrated apparatus is to facilitate the placement of the catch within the boat, there is no disclosed purpose to alleviate the strain upon the out-stretched arm of the individual lifting the fish out of the first net. This is so because the fish in the first net have already been netted and the second net is not subjected to the same forces which the current invention is designed to alleviate.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,227, issued on Mar. 28, 1989 to Flanders, Sr., for an Anti-Driving Fish Landing Net, a fishing net is depicted having the apex of its netting attached to a slidable section of the net handle. When the slidable member is drawn towards the fisherman, the bottom of the net is drawn flat against the net frame. Such a device allows the net to be dipped into the water without the net becoming entangled in the path of the hooked fish, thus causing a possible loss of the catch.
A collapsible netting frame is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,700, issued on June 17, 1980 to Marleau. The net is designed with a triangular frame, two sides of which collapse by telescoping action similar to the opening and closing of an umbrella.
A fisherman's landing net with a hinge disposed in a mid-portion of the handle is depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 2,645,874, issued on July 21, 1953 to Collins. The hinge allows the handle to bend about its middle in order to be carried over the shoulder of the fisherman.